Polymer clay collograph

This summer, since I've shut my shop, I've been spending my time focusing on learning new things without worrying about creating something "sellable". I've been messing around with my Bamboo tablet and enjoying the freedom I have to make as many mistakes as I want. I've also been dabbling in knitting, crochet, and polymer clay. All of them have been great past-times because I haven't been concerned with the outcome.

While experimenting with the polymer clay and using stamps to create textures and patterns, I began to wonder if anyone had ever used the material to print with. I thought that once the clay had been baked it would  still have some flexibility and therefore, would make it possible to be applied to a collograph plate and sent through a press without damage. I started to all sorts of possibilities and felt like a mad scientist when I created my plate. I had to create ant least thre different plates before I got one to print the way I wanted it to. I haven't seen anyone else use this technique so I thought I would list off what i learned and perhaps you would like to give it a try too.

I will be hand coloring these with watercolor

1. Once baked polymer clay has a slight texture and will print as a mid-tone grey. If you want to create whites or lighter greys you have to have to either adhere something smooth like plastic or varnish the area. Take note that the varnish doesn't stick well to polymer clay and it breaks down over each consecutive pull. I varnished my plate again half-way through the edition. I've been experimenting with various wet/dry sandpapers to create a smoother surface.

2.It's very easy to create a bevelled and level plate with the polymer clay.Unbaked polymer clay is so manipulative that it's very appealing in its' ability to be "drawn into".

3. The clay can hold very deep lines which can be advantagous or a problem when wiping the plate. If you don't push in enough ink the lines will appear white. It's surprising how little depth you need in your plate lines for them to print well.

4. This technique can be used to create relief  prints and/or embossed images.

You can see ink and oil that has accumulated under the plastic I used for the torso and face.

This gives you an idea for the depth of my plate pattern. Can you see the pattern I scribed into the plastic for the dress?

Ganbare Nippon Charity Shop

A little while back I had put a call out on my blog asking for people to let me know of any opportunities for me to donate some of my artwork to worthy charities. Thanks to a someone on Twitter who saw this, I was directed to Erica Sharp. Erica is an illustrator in the UK who is amassing an amazing collection of artwork that she is selling in a shop on Etsy called Ganbare Nippon . Ganbare Nippon is a shop dedicated solely for fundraising for relief and aid in the earthquake struck regions of Japan.

I have donated my "Into the Brush" monotype which is a one-of-a-kind print on Rives BFK paper. My "At home" linocut is from a small edition which was hand-rubbed with a wooden spoon. The final donation, "Simple Wants" is a small editioned colloraph that has been hand-painted with watercolor. Take a look at the shop and blog to see my donations and the numerous other fantastic pieces you can buy. There's no guilt in buying a piece here for your home because your purchase will help those in Japan trying to rebuild their lives. A fantastic deal I think.